How Much Sugar is in Your Kid's Diet? (Video)

On Friday I posted about Edible City the Movie, a documentary that explores the concepts of food security, justice and sustainability through the lens of the urban farming movement. Perusing the filmmakers' website, I came across some extended footage of a nutrition class in a Berkeley Elementary school, exploring the insane amounts of sugar to be found in the processed foods many of us eat every day. The class certainly made me stop and think. As the husband of a nutritionist, I was by no means unaware of the fact that many processed foods contain excessively high levels of sugar. Nevertheless, there is something compelling about the way Joy Moore, the teacher featured in this video, allows kids to explore for themselves just how much sugar can be found in every day foods.

And while the numbers themselves are pretty shocking, it's when the kids start measuring out the actual quantities that the message really hits home. (See also Lloyd's post on Sugar Stacks for another example of this lesson.) I'm hoping the lesson included a caution to go easy on the smoothies too&mdashjust; because it's a natural sugar, doesn't mean it's benign. But smoothies beat sodas any day of the week.